Dépaysement
by Avalonolava
Summary: Robin and his band of thieves steal from the wrong people: The Three Musketeers. After their confrontation, they find an equal enemy with Guy of Gisborne and Buckingham who have joined forces in order to take down Robin and the Musketeers. Add a girl by the name of Elyn Rowe, and you'll get a thrilling story of thievery, double agents, and a little romance.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**:

_Nottingham, England_

"I believe we have a common interest," A rather dapper looking man dressed in a deep blue said, sneering at his counterpart. He stood, walking slowly around the small back room of the tavern.

The other man, dressed in black leather and seated lazily in front of the dapper man, seemed to consider what he had said for a moment. "Do we? I can't see what I could gain from you. Robin Hood is _gone_."

The dapper man rolled his eyes, "Yes, he's gone from _your_ town Gisborne, but it's likely he could return to finish you off for what you did to his lover."

The man dressed in leather, Gisborne, laughed bitterly. "I'd like to see him try." Gisborne had hoped his inner despair for his actions against Robin's lover, Marian, did not show.

"I can offer you more land, weapons, a title, _women_. All you must do is accompany me to France and finish off the Musketeers." The man looked about done with the conversation, desperate to get Gisborne on his side.

"And how can I be of any help to you? You've got armies, warships, power of your own," Gisborne asked, curious and willing to accept any compliments this man would give.

"My informants tell me you're good at what you do, and if Robin happens to run to France I'm sure you'll get your chance to finish him off for good. I want that, just as much as you do. If Robin and his band of… what do they call themselves?"

"They call themselves Robin Hood," Gisborne said with complete disgust.

Buckingham laughed. "He named his group after himself? We all may be more alike than first imagined, but I digress. If Robin Hood and his gang find the Musketeers and ally with them, I should think their combined _self-righteousness_ could provoke the country to fight against the Cardinal and thus me." Buckingham's tone became very serious, "I will not lose France."

Gisborne looked distressed for a moment, before returning his stern gaze to the other man. Standing, he offered his hand. "You have finally offered something I'd like, Buckingham. " Buckingham looked relieved and took Gisborne's hand to shake it.

"Excellent!" Buckingham exclaimed after releasing Gisborne's hand. "We leave now. You need not bring anything; my ships are luxurious enough to provide you with what you need." He started for the door, now seemingly uninterested in Gisborne upon gaining his alliance. Gisborne followed him out into the main room of the tavern where the locals were obvious to the two men.

"Oh, and I we have a tailor aboard our ship, so you can… change for our journey." Buckingham added, not hiding his distain for Gisborne's dark leather "look".

Gisborne raised an eyebrow, "I think I'll stick to my own wardrobe. I don't do well with bright colors." Buckingham now looked offended, but smiled regardless exiting the tavern with Gisborne at his heels.

A woman dressed as extravagantly as Buckingham greeted them as they approached the carriage they were to leave England in. "Lord Buckingham," She curtsied, lifting her hand up to allow Buckingham to kiss it.

"Milady," Buckingham acknowledged with a smug tone, kissing her hand. As Gisborne watched the exchange, he came to the conclusion that it was "in fashion" for nobles to dress as a cake. He didn't like it.

"This must be Guy of Gisborne," Milady smiled, lifting her hand to Gisborne now. He took it without a pause, "Milady."

"Now that we are all acquainted, shall we leave? Wouldn't want to keep the Musketeers in comfort for too long," Buckingham said, obviously excited at the prospect of revenge. He waved his hand to signal Milady to enter the carriage, before following after her. Gisborne looked around Nottingham, debating briefly whether he should leave or not.

"Gisborne! Get in!" Buckingham shouted from inside the carriage. Gisborne glared at him, but entered the carriage taking the seat across from Buckingham and Milady. Buckingham it the roof of the carriage with his staff and the vehicle took off.


	2. General Splendor

_Paris, France_

Her arrival to Paris was rather unspectacular; she wasn't expecting a grand hurrah, but this dull splendor (if one could call it that) was certainly not it. Sighing, she dismounted her horse; she took in her surroundings before walking her horse to the nearby stables to store him. Upon leaving the stables she straightened her plain, slightly faded green dress, and her makeshift belt that sheathed her sabre she had purchased after leaving home. She did not come from a poor family, but she had disconnected ties with them the day she set off to explore Europe.

Finding the general area dull, she took to finding an inn as quickly as possible and found what she was looking for with ease. The inn, named the Lusty Bar Maiden (very classy), was also home to a bar, which did not give the most pleasant aura, but the rooms were cheap. Upon paying for her room she looked about the crowded inn; there wasn't much better to look at.

"What a lovely sight!" A nearby drunk shouted at her, causing her to look to see the gentleman (if one could call him so). He was, to be expected, deeply intoxicated and terribly ugly. She sighed, turning her gaze elsewhere hoping the man would leave her be.

"Come and give us a kiss!"

The man grasped her elbow causing her to unsheathe her sword, "I recommend you cease from grabbing me, Sir, else you won't have the appendages to grab _anything_."

The man took out his own sword, apparently too drunk to realize much of anything. "How dare you!" He shouted.

This entire situation seemed ridiculous, and now was only prolonging itself. Elyn poised herself in a fighting stance, since she was not completely useless when it came to fighting. Most of the crowd in the inn was now focused on Elyn and the drunk, some cheering, some simply conversing loudly amongst themselves.

Another man walked between Elyn and the drunk. "Come on Tom, you do this daily. Just put your weapon away and let the lady away." He turned towards Elyn once the drunkard, Tom, had sloppily put his weapon away and slumped into a nearby chair.

She sheathed her sabre slowly, keeping eye contact with the man. "I didn't need any help."

"I do not doubt it, but Tom is a simple town drunk with a little too much spunk. Not a fight anyone would want to see." The man studied her. "As you are new to town, I suggest you refrain from starting brawls around here, none of the folk mean real harm. Most are drunks or simply bored." With that advice, he left her and walked out the door.

Elyn turned her attention back to her surroundings as she reflected on the man. He seemed familiar, though she was sure she had never met him before. Not dwelling on the man, she decided that although the general area was underwhelming, she'd take a walk, if only to spare her from any more bar fights.

She took notice of many guards, presumably the Cardinal's guards, who were mostly unpleasant to look at and listen to. They were also peddling money from various poor people on the street. This was definitely not the Paris she was expecting.

"Oi! You newcomer!" She turned around, annoyed that she was being called at again. Crossing her arms, she turned around to face the caller who was a guard. He walked up, "Have you paid the fee for entering the city?"

"Pardon?" She replied, confused.

"The entry tax for the city." He said it as if he was talking to a child.

"Er… No."

He held his hand, palm facing upwards, "Then I insist you pay now."

Elyn laughed. "I don't think so. That hardly sounds like a real tax."

The guard leered at her, "If you don't pay it, we will be forced to take you into custody."

"You have got to be joking." She uncrossed her arms, to place them on her hips.

"No joke, Madam. So take you pick." The two stood staring at each other while Elyn thought of the possible ways out of this situation; she could pay the tax, but she still was unsure that it was real.

"I cannot pay you," Elyn said, her right hand sliding slowly down her hip to prepare for the inevitable altercation that was going to take place.

"Well, then you'll have to come with us." He turned, to motion to his fellow guards to grab her.

"I'm afraid I cannot accompany you either," She said with more hostility than she thought she could muster.

The guard turned around just in time to be kicked square in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards until he hit the ground. Elyn looked pleased with herself, while the man got back up and unsheathed his sword, "Attacking the Cardinal's guard is an offense payable by jail time. Not to mention the tax I asked for." He pointed his sword at her as more guards gathered around her.

Taking a look around at the surrounding guards, all pointing their swords at her before spotting the same man from the bar watching from afar. He had an amused look on his face, no doubt thinking of the advice he had given her. She smirked before running towards the guard who spoke to her, falling to the ground, and sliding next to him in order to get behind him.

As he turned to attack her, she kicked the back of his knees grabbing his sword as he fell.

Standing up she held the sword out, "Come on then! Take me away!" She taunted.

The rest of the guards started at her, so Elyn took this opportunity to make a run for it. Darting down a nearby ally, she sprinted away from the guards who kept their distance from her to a minimum.

As she ran into another clearing in the town she looked around for any means that could help her, but the guards were already on her tail. Decidedly, she stopped and faced her opponents waiting only a moment before the first of the guards caught up with her. She easily dodged the first couple of swings, but she was quickly overwhelmed by the amount of guards pursuing her. She turned in place to find herself surrounded once again.

"One last chance, outsider. Come with us or die," One of the guards threatened.

Elyn sighed, not particularly wanting to die today. She threw the sword she had stolen from the first guard down on the ground and held up her hands.

This was _definitely_ not how she had imagined Paris.

* * *

Elyn leaned against the back wall of her cell, annoyed with herself for getting herself in this situation. Obviously the "tax" was a lousy way of taking money from travelers, but if she just kept her mouth shut she would be enjoying… Oh, who was she kidding? She had been disappointed with Paris since she arrived.

Sighing she approached the bars of her cell to look around the hallway. There weren't very many others in the jail, just two older men who were heavily intoxicated and singing some bards tune she didn't recognize. Unfortunately for Elyn, the guards never told her how long she was to be detained or if she had to pay any fees so her outlook on this situation was becoming grimmer as the minutes passed.

The thought of breaking out crossed her mind, especially since she had some experience with lock picking, but she would have to go upstairs to escape, and there were too many guards to sneak past to even try. She walked back to the wall she had been leaning against and sat down on the ground. Might as well make herself comfortable.

After what seemed like hours, someone finally entered the hallway, or rather a couple of someones. Elyn stood up and walked slowly to the middle of the cell as two guards passed escorting six men to the cell across from her. After shoving the men into the cell, the prisoners started talking to one another, unaware of Elyn's presence.

"I told you they were important!" One of the men exclaimed.

"Shut up Allan!" A man with dark hair shot back.

"We should have gone through the window. No locks," The shortest of the group commented.

Elyn realized he was actually a she and was the only girl of the group. She spoke with an accent, and had cut her hair short probably so she couldn't be caught if she dressed as a woman. Elyn commended her craftiness silently.

"Our goal should just be to get out of here," Another one of the men said in an authoritative voice, obviously just as displeased as Elyn was with being put in jail. She gathered this was their leader.

"How?" The man named Allan asked. Finally the group took in their surroundings, including Elyn.

The leader of the group stepped up to the bars and nodded towards her, "Why are you here?"

Elyn thought for a moment before responding. If she teamed up with this group she could easily get pass the guards. Where she would go afterwards was something she would have to decide _after_ she had escaped. "Guards threw me in after I wouldn't pay a visitor's tax," She offered, stepping closer to the bars after standing so long in the shadows of her cell.

The man laughed. "No matter where we go it seems to be the same."

His men, and the woman, nodded in agreement.

"What do you mean?" Elyn asked.

"The rich stealing from the poor," The dark haired man explained.

"Oh," Elyn realized, and nodded in affirmation.

"I'm Robin. This is Much, Will, Djaq, John, and Allan," Robin said, pointing to each person as he said his or her name.

"I'm Elyn," She said with a smile. "What are you in for?" She asked since, after all, she told him of her mishap.

"We stole from the wrong people." Robin explained.

Much then interjected, "Or rather we stole from the right people but they caught us."

Elyn stifled a laugh.

"Oi, it wasn't funny when it was happenin'!" Allan exclaimed, butt hurt over their misfortune.

"So, have you thought of a way out?" Will asked her.

"I have thought _of_ breaking out, just not _how._ However…" Elyn paused, smirking when she realized she still had her dagger tucked away in her boots. Taking it out she looked back to Robin and his group, "I might be able to pick the lock with this." Everyone sighed in relief at the possibility of breaking out.

Elyn worked quietly at the lock, which fortunately had a large keyhole, large enough for the dagger to fit into. After about 15 minutes there was finally a satisfying click as the padlock opened. Elyn smirked in pride as she quietly opened the door and walked to Robin's cell to unlock it.

Once they were all free, Robin began to voice his plan. "There are probably eight to ten guards upstairs, but that shouldn't be a problem with the seven of us."

"Er, I don't really know how to fight with a dagger," Elyn interjected. It wasn't a lie; she had never trained or had the opportunity to fight in close of combat with her dagger. She could kick and punch, but throw in a small weapon and she'd probably end up slicing her own leg.

"I'll stay near you," The bulky one named John finally spoke, sporting a small smile directed at her. Elyn smiled back.

"Alright, Djaq can look for the key to the main door while I, Will and Allan keep the guards busy." He looked to the entire group for their nods of approval.

Once everyone agreed, they headed upstairs where Robin, Will and Allan immediately started fighting guards. Djaq made a beeline to the desk, opening up drawers looking for the keys, or anything else of importance.

John began fighting as Elyn stayed cautiously behind him, also keeping an eye out for the key to the door having no such luck finding it. Once all of the guards in the room were "detained", Djaq checked all of their pockets and found what they were looking for.

"I've got it!" She exclaimed, heading straight for the door and unlocking it. The group entered the main room, which was suspiciously empty of any guards.

"That's a bit odd," Much said, voicing everyone's thoughts. Elyn walked towards the side door and opened it slowly, finding the remaining 3 guards sitting eating lunch. They immediately rose and yelled at the intrusion.

"John! Go help her!" Robin yelled, but as John ran to help Elyn he stopped. Elyn was fighting them off well on her own, kicking and punching the guards down to the floor.

"I thought she said she didn't know how to fight." Much looked on with newfound fear of their companion.

Will crossed his arms, impressed with Elyn's skill, "I think she lied."

With those guards knocked out, she turned around to face Robin and his gang who looked on in surprise.

Elyn straightened out her dress, "I said I didn't know how to fight with a dagger, not that I didn't know how to fight at all."

"Yeah. We see that now," Allan said in awe.

"Shall we?" Elyn asked, pointing towards the door out of the jail. Everyone nodded, still a little surprised by Elyn's "sudden" ability to fight.

The group snuck outside and headed towards the thicket behind the inn. The rest of the Cardinal's guard was unaware of the escaped prisoners, but Robin didn't want to take any chances.

Once they were sure they were safe, they relaxed and sat under the afternoon sun. "So, now what will you do?" Elyn asked Robin.

He shrugged. "Probably try and steal from the Musketeers again."

"The Musketeers?" Elyn asked, not aware of who the Musketeers were.

"They're this bunch of fancy looking ponces who like to spend money on clothes," Allan explained, lying lazily on the grass near Elyn.

"And as you've hopefully guessed, we steal from the rich and give to the poor," Much said going through his knapsack.

"The people shouldn't suffer if there's people with money who can stop the suffering," Robin said thoughtfully.

"I suppose it was these Musketeers that caught you." Elyn offered. Everyone nodded.

"We're not very good in this environment," Will admitted.

'We're used to the low key environment we lived in, in England," Djaq explained further.

"What exactly were you stealing from them?" Elyn inquired.

"Some gold and valuable looking trinkets." Allan waved his hand to imply the items weren't much of anything.

"I could help you next time. I could be the look out." Elyn offered, after all Paris wasn't as exciting as she first thought it'd be; this could liven it up. Robin seemed to contemplate this, and looked to his gang for their thoughts.

Allan was the first to offer an opinion on the matter, "Well, you could distract them easily with that on." He smirked nodding towards her.

Elyn smiled at the remark, eyeing her dress. Women could distract a man from anything if she was wearing a pretty dress (and a revealing one at that). The rest of the gang smiled and stifled laughter.

"Then it's agreed! We go to the Musketeers tomorrow at noon. Elyn will distract them, while we loot the house!" Robin looked excited.

"And this time we won't get caught," Much said with just as much excitement. Elyn laughed openly, excited for her new, although illegal, endeavor. After all, she didn't have anything to lose.


	3. Failed Distractions & Actions

_Musketeer Home, Paris, France_

"Do we know what happened to those arses who broke in here yesterday?" A rather plump, although dashing fellow, Porthos, asked. He was obviously irked at the news of the prisoner breach, especially since said prisoners attempted to steal his clothes and weapons.

Aramis, the calmest of the group replied with an uninterested tone, "The guard is out looking for them, but we all know how incompetent the Cardinal's guard is."

Porthos laughed heartedly at the countless memories of beating the guards in brawls.

"I suppose going after them ourselves is out of the question," d'Artagnan said, as he leaned back in his chair lazily. Being the youngest, he was used to his ideas of quick revenge being shot down, however he thought perhaps this incident would trigger the three older Musketeers to take action.

Athos stared at d'Artagnan for a moment, considering the option. "It's not a great idea," He finally said.

"Besides, those men probably ran as far away from here as possible so they wouldn't be caught again," Aramis offered. The four nodded, finding this option to be a plausible one, and returned to lounging in their home.

Only moments after the Musketeers had kept silent, a knock at the door echoed through the 3-story home.

"Planchet! Get that will you!" Porthos called.

Planchet's footsteps were heard above them, and a muffled, "Oh right! Because I'm much closer to the front door!"

Porthos laughed, taking a swig of wine. He did enjoy pestering their caretaker.

Planchet quickly made his way down two flights of stairs, and opened the door to see a rather attractive woman. "Er, hello," Planchet managed to get out, unsure of what she was doing here- oh right the Musketeers live here.

"I was looking for the Musketeers," The woman explained, smiling flirtatiously.

"Uh, who can I say is at the door? They won't believe me if I just said a beautiful-" he quickly silenced himself, not wishing to make a fool of himself.

The woman just laughed lightly and replied, "My name is Elyn. I'm passing through town and wanted to meet the infamous Musketeers for myself."

"Right. Yes. Good," Planchet said, with a goofy smile. "Just stay here, and I'll get them." He quickly ran upstairs where the Musketeers were lounging and said, out of breath, "There's a woman named Elyn at the door. She's… gorgeous- and I swear I am not making this up." The four men looked at him unimpressed, but got up anyway, wondering why Planchet would be so excited over this woman.

Upon approaching the door, Ararmis looked on to Elyn with recognition. "It's you!" He exclaimed.

The other three Musketeers looked to Aramis with surprise. "You know her?" d'Artagnan asked, smirking at the prospect of his older Musketeer getting action.

Elyn's smiled faded briefly, afraid that his recognition of her may muck up the plan. "You never told me you were a Musketeer. In fact, you also didn't introduce yourself at all," Elyn said.

d'Artagnan let out a bark of laughter before hitting Aramis' shoulder. "Now I know that you have your needs Aramis-"

"No! No, we didn't do that… I just stopped Tom from brawling with her." Aramis interrupted, slightly embarrassed by d'Artagnan's assumptions.

"So am I going to get any introductions from you lot, or do you five usually stand in your doorway staring at your guest?"Elyn asked. She looked over their shoulders and spotted Robin quietly making his way inside the home through the balcony doors.

"We no we usually-" Porthos began.

"Actually, would you all be so kind as to show me around? I've heard many stories of the Musketeers, and since I'm new in town…" She asked, looking to all the Musketeers (and Planchet) with her wistful eyes.

Now Allan and Much were sneaking through the balcony doors looking to Elyn for any sign to retreat but she gave them none so they continued through the house.

Athos looked concerned for a moment, but one glance to his fellow Musketeers told him that they didn't see any threat with her.

"Well, I suppose we don't have any other duties to get to," Athos finally said.

"It would be our honor to escort a fine woman such as yourself around town," Porthos said sporting a debonair smile. Elyn smiled back, spotting the last of Robin's gang walking into the house.

"Shall we?" d'Artagnan asked, putting his arm out for Elyn to loop her's though. She smirked at him, amused at the nerve of this younger gentleman and put her arm through his as he lead her outside.

With no clue that their house was currently being ransacked, the other three Musketeers followed, commenting on the nearby housing. Elyn looked up towards the third floor of the Musketeer's home and spotted Allan looking out the window. He gave her a wink, before disappearing back into the house.

d'Artagnan was very informative when it came to the village they all resided, though Elyn barely took any of the information in. She was on constant look out for Much, who was supposed to give her the signal that she was free to leave the Musketeers alone.

"That over there is where I challenged all the Musketeers to a duel," d'Artagnan boasted. Elyn smiled at the 4 men.

"Who won?" she asked, feeling amused at the thought of d'Artagnan even challenging them.

"We all did!" Porthos chuckled. "We were quickly ambushed by the Cardinal's guard so we became allies in order to stand our ground."

"And stand our ground we did," Aramis said with pride. Athos remained quiet, seeming to be alert to his surroundings.

"I believe we are being followed," Athos muttered to Aramis. Aramis' back straightened, and he looked around much more focused. Elyn felt panicked for a moment, wondering if Much had been following them around the city. She inwardly scolded herself for taking this break in so lightly.

"Over there," Porthos nodded to the south area of the plaza. The Musketeers and Elyn looked over to see a man dressed in black leaning against one of the surrounding buildings, pealing an apple.

Elyn breathed a sigh of relief. He definitely wasn't one of Robin's men.

"How do you know it's him?" she whispered to the Musketeers. None of the men answered.

"Let's head back to the house," Aramis suggested.

d'Artagnan lead Elyn past where the alleged follower stood. As she passed the man, they locked eyes. She wasn't able to decipher anything about the man, other than his intense stare. She gathered that he was trying to figure out who she was to the Musketeers.

The Musketeers barely glanced at the man, and continued to walk back towards their home. Elyn was still focused on remember the man they saw, when she heard Athos call out.

"They're in our house!" Athos immediately dashed towards the house, after seeking Allan in one of their windows.

Elyn let go of d'Artagnan's arm as he dashed off with the rest of Musketeers into the house, while she waited outside unsure whether to enter the house and help the gang. She looked around and saw the same man dressed in leather walking towards her.

"Who are you?" Elyn demanded, meeting him halfway as he approached her. He looked amused at her demand.

"Doesn't concern you," he replied simply. He made to maneuver around her towards the house.

"How do you know if it concerns me or not?" Elyn asked, stepping back in front of the man.

He still had an amused smirk on his face as he answered, "The people that do concern me have never been seen with you, so you are of little importance." He walked around her again, walking into the house.

Elyn huffed, considering her options. If she rushed inside to aid Robin and the gang, the Musketeers would go after her. As far as the Musketeers knew she was simply a traveler, not one trained in combat.

"Gisborne?!" Robin shouted in outrage, before the sounds of a table breaking were heard.

Elyn made for the Musketeers' home but Allan and Will quickly ran out. Allan grabbed her arm pulling her with them as they headed towards the outskirts of town.

"What's going on?" Elyn asked, looking back in worry as they reached the town's outskirts.

Will was the first to reply, "We ran into an old acquaintance."

"Well, several actually," Allan added, looking around for the rest of the gang. Elyn followed Allan's eyesight and spotted John and Djaq running towards them.

"I'm sorry about the Musketeers. I was keeping them occupied but this man dressed in dark leather made them cautious, so they headed back to their home," Elyn explained.

"That would be Guy," John interjected, as he and Djaq walked up to the group.

"Guy of Gisborne. He was one of Robin's foes back in our small town," Allan explained further.

By Allan's tone, the adjective "foe" was putting it lightly. Elyn decided to leave that be and focus on the safety of Robin and Much who still hadn't arrived.

"Are Robin and Much alright?" She inquired.

"Aye, they should be arriving soon. Robin always likes to leave extravagantly," John said, chuckling at the thought of Much's despair as Robin endangered their lives further before inevitably running off.

"Wouldn't have pegged him as extravagant," Elyn said, mostly to herself. Her comment got a chuckle out of Allan.

"Come on! Let's head further into the forest to wait for Robin and Much. They'll know how to find us," Allan said, moving his head to nod in the direction they should go. The group all agreed to leave, walking through the thicket until the they were unable to see the town.

* * *

_The Forests outside of Paris, France_

"Regale us with the tale, Robin!" Djaq exclaimed. Elyn and the group were seated around a good sized bonfire, where they were cooking their meal.

Robin laughed before speaking, "As you wish! There we were, Much was pleading with me to retreat-"

"And as usual, Master, you did not listen. It was bad enough we had to fight the Musketeers, then Guy barges in!" Much interrupted.

"The bastard," Robin sneered. "I thought we'd be rid of him once we traveled to France."

"How did he even know we were here?" Will asked, roasting his ca-bob over the bonfire. Robin shrugged, looking thoughtful.

"I noticed he was following the Musketeers in the town, and they seemed to recognize him," Elyn offered.

"It all sounds rather fishy, if you ask me," said Much.

"Continue with the regaling!" Djaq urged, a smile on her face.

Robin chuckled then continued, "Right, right… There we were when none other than Guy of Gisborne storms in."

"Looking as friendly as ever," Much interjected.

"The Musketeers were taken off guard and suddenly the lines of who were fighting who became blurred!" Robin exclaimed dramatically.

"Much even hit me twice!" Robin playfully shoved Much, who replied with a "humph".

Robin continued, "With all the commotion and confusion, Much and I were able to dash outside with Guy and that brooding Musketeer on our tails."

"It wasn't until we dove into a… soiled haystack were we able to lose the two," Much explained.

"Admittedly, it seemed like the broody one was more keen on tracking Guy once we had disappeared from his view," said Robin.

"Sounds like you two have a lot of luck on your side," Elyn observed, smiling.

Allan, who was seated next to her, nudged her with his shoulder, "You should have seen the two when we lived in England. How they, and then later all of us, got out of trouble was incredible."

"So, what's the next move?" Elyn asked. She took a bite of her ca-bob, patiently awaiting an answer.

Robin finally shrugged, "We got enough valuables to sell, or give away. I'd say our quarrel with the Musketeers is settled."

"Even if they don't see it that way," John added, with a smirk.

* * *

Musketeer Home, Paris, France

"How could this happen _again_?!" Porthos bellowed as he looked around at their now destroyed home.

"Do you think that woman had something to with it?" Aramis asked calmly, picking up his books that were thrown about the room.

"She did seem to disappear rather quickly…" d'Artagnan said thoughtfully.

"Seeing as she was new to the area, and didn't have a weapon on her, I would assume she'd run away lest she get harmed," Athos reasoned. The four men stood looking to each other, finally shrugging the mysterious woman's disappearance as nothing unusual.

"What about that other fellow that barged in here?" Porthos asked, picking up a fallen chair and placing it on its legs before sitting down.

"I believe the bandits called him Gisborne," said d'Artagnan, taking Porthos' lead and taking a seat at their overturned dinner table.

"We should learn as much as we can about him. He was after the leader of that gang," Athos determined, pacing around the room.

"Perhaps if we find him, he could tell is about the gang. Make an alliance with him," said Aramis.

"That may not be a bad idea…" agreed Athos.

* * *

_Cardinal's Wing of the Castle, Paris, France_

"What do you mean they got away? How do you manage to loose all six of them?" The Cardinal rubbed his forehead in agitation. Guy and Buckingham stood before the Cardinal, who was sitting at his rather luxurious desk.

Buckingham sported both an annoyed and bored look as the Cardinal continued to reprimand them for their many failures, and how it would effect the country, blah, blah, blah. Whereas Guy was currently counting the tiles that lined the ceiling of the room.

"How bloody- pardon my language Lord, difficult is it to capture at least one of them?" The Cardinal asked. Apparently he wished for an answer, so Guy spoke first.

"There was also a woman there."

"Ooh, a _woman_! Why didn't you say so? A woman! How exciting!" The Cardinal exclaimed, each word dripping with sarcasm. Buckingham rolled his eyes.

"What if she is aiding them?" Guy asked, attempting to make his failed task seem like it gained more information.

"I did not see her myself, but it is likely that at least _one_ of Robin's gang members managed to get a woman to stick around. After all, she had not made my acquaintance yet," Buckingham smirked. It was Guy's turn to roll his eyes.

The Cardinal sighed, obviously frustrated and growing tired of this conversation. "Perhaps she is of some importance. Just look out for her or Robin Hood's gang. We need to capture the lot of them, and if she can be the bait, then so be it."

The vague orders the Cardinal gave made Guy and Buckingham stand there a couple moments longer, unsure if that meant they were excused.

"Leave!" The Cardinal finally shouted.

As the two men walked away, Buckingham turned to speak to Guy, "I think it's time we try a different tactic, rather than "Find and Fight"."

"That is not what my tactic was," Guy immediately replied.

"Regardless, that is what you did and it got us no where. Tomorrow we try for charm, which means you get to watch as I play with this mysterious woman," Buckingham said, looking positively delighted at the chance.

Guy rolled his eyes once again, already feeling though this alliance was going to give him serious eye strain.

_'It will be worth it in the end, once Robin and his gang of merry men are dead,'_ he reminded himself. Now, he just had to remind himself of that 50 times a day so he wouldn't end up strangling Buckingham.


End file.
